With waterparks, sometimes technology floats just below the surface

Many are familiar with the most recent technological advancements in the waterpark market. Mixing game engines or AV equipment with slides and pools is gaining popularity. But during IAAPA, two manufacturers showed that not all of the industry advancements are readily apparent to waterpark guests. Story by Martin Palicki

The Polin team stands to the right of the Slide ‘n’ Roll product

Polin

As announced in InPark’s IAAPA 2015 issue, Polin Waterparks set up a showcase of their latest slide innovations. Their suite of slides are now available with a variety of patterns and images incorporated directly into the slide material. Designers can choose to have a slide that appears to be made of wood for a rustic themed waterpark, or one made of metal for an industrial look.

A graffiti version allows any sort of images or drawings to appear on the slide, opening up a wide variety of options for designers.

The honeycomb product uses slightly different technology, with a mosaic of tiles applied by hand to the slide, providing a luxurious, glimmering appearance.

At IAAPA, the most popular new product was the Slide & Roll, which combines the slide image technology with tactile tranducers that turn the entire slide into a speaker, providing music throughout the slide.

WhiteWater

Celebrating their 35th anniversary, WhiteWater’s Director of Creative Design Rick Briggs presented the company’s new APX family play structure. It stands for Aqua Play neXt generation and incorporates a variety of new concepts and technologies into its design.

Guests may first notice that the central structure is designed to be open. Typical play structures have piping and tubes in the center of the structure, but WhiteWater moved them to the periphery, allowing for an open plan providing better visibility not only for parents but lifeguards as well.

The typical water gun has been replaced with a “staccato shooter.” It mimics the action of a pulsating lawn sprinkler. The old style shooter has a single nozzle and projects a stream of water like a drinking fountain, but has to be at a low water pressure because higher pressure could hurt. The staccato shooter is able to project a farther distance without hurting the individual on the receiving end of the splash.

Briggs is proud of the fact that the structure was designed with input from child psychologists. The design encourages exploration and learning. Many of the interactives are discovered by accident, and as the levels of the structure increase, the interactives are designed for older children.